9 million cigarettes worth a whopping €4.5m seized at Dublin Port

Seizure: 9 million cigarettes were discovered in a container at Dublin Port

Approximately nine million cigarettes have been seized at Dublin Port with a retail value of over €4.5m.

The seizure, carried out earlier today, was the result of an intelligence-led operation with China’s Customs Authorities and Revenue’s Customs Service.

The container in which the cigarettes were found left China aboard the vessel “MV Cosco Fortune” and sailed via the ports of Ningbo and Rotterdam and finally arrived into Dublin Port on board a different vessel.

The ‘Dorchester’ brand cigarettes were described on the manifest as ‘vacuum cleaners’ and are believed to be counterfeit, Revenue said.

Investigations into this importation are continuing.

In a separate, joint operation today involving Revenue’s Customs Service, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), five men were arrested and more than four million cigarettes along with a suspected mobile fuel laundering plant were seized in County Tyrone.

These seizures are part of Revenue’s ongoing operations targeting the supply and sale of illegal cigarettes.

If businesses or members of the public have any information regarding the smuggling or sale of illegal cigarettes or tobacco, they can contact Revenue in confidence on free phone number 1800 295 295.